Brain

Brain
First reference:	Genesis
	"Brain" on Wikipedia

According to research by Dr. Chandra Suresh, a particular mutation in the brain has caused some people to develop superhuman powers. Additionally, Sylar has targeted evolved humans with the intent of removing their brains.

About

Genesis

While giving a lecture at Chennai University, Mohinder Suresh addresses the common misconception that man uses only one-tenth of his brain power. He suggests that with another percent, man may actually be worthy of "God's image".

Don't Look Back

James Walker is found in his house with his brain removed; he appears to have died before the brain was removed.

In an alternate future, Hiro Nakamura happens upon Isaac Mendez's dead body; the painter's brain has been removed.

One Giant Leap

While searching Sylar's apartment, Eden McCain and Mohinder Suresh find disturbing medical texts outlining how to expose the brain.

Collision

Brody Mitchum accidentally knocks Claire Bennet in such a way that a tree branch becomes lodged in her brain. She appears dead until the medical examiner removes the branch from her brain. With the branch removed, her power rapidly restores her to health.

At a secret medical facility, Matt Parkman is held captive by Mr. Bennet and a mysterious man. His brain is hooked up to monitors. As Matt attempts to read the minds of his captors, the monitors show increased brain activity.

Seven Minutes to Midnight

While perusing his father's research in Sanjog's file, Mohinder comes across an article proclaiming that scientists have found new areas in the brain. The article states that the researchers used DCX imaging to determine that "we all have an area in our brains that functions independently of the other areas".

At the Burnt Toast Diner, Charlie Andrews's head is sliced open, killing her.

Homecoming

At Union Wells High School, Sylar attacks Jackie Wilcox; he attempts to get to her brain, but is interrupted.

Mr. Bennet shows Eden several pictures of Sylar's victims, their brains removed.

Six Months Ago

Dr. Suresh meets with Gabriel Gray and performs tests on his brain. He explains to his subject that the special abilities of evolved humans come from a particular structure of the brain. He also tells Gray that the brain controls every action. Quoting his book, the doctor says that if there's a soul, it's in the brain. Later, in his watch shop, Gabriel realizes how Brian Davis's power of telekinesis originates in the brain. He claims that Davis has a "defect" that he can fix. Gabriel is then compelled to bludgeon Davis over the head.

Charlie reveals to Hiro that she has an blood clot in her brain.

Fallout

Ando calls Sylar "brain man".

In Sylar's cell, Eden finds herself in Sylar's clutches. Upon his threat to steal her ability, Eden quickly decides to shoot herself. She aims for her head, effectively destroying her brain.

Graphic Novel:Wireless, Part 2

While in training and observation at an Alaskan facility run by the the Company, Hana Gitelman undergoes many tests. Her brain is examined in an MRI machine.

Godsend

In his cell, Sylar wears a shunt attached to his brain.

The Fix

The front of the Mozaic file lists research on "EEG Reports".

Distractions

Sylar detaches the shunt from his brain and throws it at Mr. Bennet's feet.

Run!

Sandra's headaches prompt a visit to a neurologist.

Zane Taylor is killed and his brain is removed.

Unexpected

Dr. Beth Lindall tells Claire that Sandra has a subdural hemorrhage in the area of her brain that controls memory.

Dale is found dead in her shop, missing a brain.

Company Man

Matt is taken back to a medical facility where his brain is scanned.

Parasite

Mohinder attaches Sylar to an IV drip. Mohinder says the curare in the drip is a brain paralytic, and keeps Sylar from being able to control his abilities. Mohinder then takes a sample from Sylar's spinal fluid.

In his studio, Isaac paints a number of images that depict the artist from various angles with no brain.

Later, Sylar begins to telekinetically slice open Peter's forehead.

.07%

Sylar telekinetically lodges a shard of glass in Peter's brain. Claire removes the shard and Peter returns to life.

Later, Sylar removes Isaac's brain, echoing the series of paintings Isaac created.

Graphic Novel:String Theory

In an alternate timeline, Sylar removes Claire's brain at Homecoming.

Five Years Gone

At the Petrelli mansion, Sylar points his finger at Claire's head and telekinetically slices open her head.

The Hard Part

Peter gives Claire a gun and instructs that she should shoot him in the back of the head ("You know the spot") if he begins to explode.

Landslide

D.L. phases his hand into the back of Linderman's head and removes part of his brain matter. Linderman dies almost instantly.

Sylar removes Ted's brain.

Graphic Novel:Betty, Part 2

One of Betty's illusions starts rumors that Crash is brain dead, that he split his head open and became brain damaged, and that his brain got scrambled.

Kindred

Sylar hits Candice over the head with a mug, and removes her brain in order to take her power.

Out of Time

Bob tells Matt that anything the brain controls, he can control too.

Matt speaks to an unconscious Molly, and her brain monitor registers as more active. This is her way of communicating with Matt from the nightmare prison Maury has her trapped in.

Four Months Ago...

Adam tells Peter that his brain has been damaged by the Haitian, and the only way to get his memories back is to heal it.

Bob tells Niki that when abilities manifest, a fracture of the brain can occur, which can possibly result in split personalities, like in Niki's case.

Powerless

Adam tells Peter to use his brain to break into the vault.

In the Company's vault, Matt looks at a brain with the label B037 and wonders what it means.

Graphic Novel:The Man with Too Much Brains

Matt Neuenberg's classmate tells Matt that he his mind is like a search engine. Later, Bob tests Matt's brain, among other things.

Graphic Novel:Hana and Drucker's Plot Discovered

After finding out from Bob that the Company's mainframe is in danger, Elle puts a goggle device on Matt Neuenberg and begins transferring all the mainframe's information to his brain.

Graphic Novel:The End of Hana and Drucker

During an "upload" of information from his memory, Matt Neuenberg's brain overloads and begins to bleed out his ear.

The Second Coming

Sylar removes the top of Claire's head and examines her brain. Claire asks if he's going to eat her brain, and Sylar says, "That's disgusting". Sylar finds what he needs and replaces Claire's scalp, having taken her ability.

Our Father

Peter fires a bullet at Arthur, and Sylar uses his ability of telekinesis to interrupt the trajectory, question Arthur, then continue the bullet on its path. Arthur is killed as the bullet enters his brain and goes out the other side. He does not regenerate as the bullet presumably destroyed the spot that controls regeneration.

Graphic Novel: Truths

As Arthur retells his death scene in his own narration, he likes his being shot and killed to that of his son's shooting a deer on a hunting trip during their youth. Unlike the episode, the graphic novel rendering of the gunshot shows his brain being blasted out the back of his head.

Dual

Claire jabs a glass shard into the back of Sylar's brain, rendering him powerless, and temporarily dead. The glass shard later melts.

Tabula Rasa

Hiro tells Peter about his brain tumor.

Emma looks at a scan of her brain.

The Needs of the Many

When Molly is found by Noah, Quentin and Taylor, they see that she is hooked up to a machine via her brain. Noah postulates that Erica has found a way to access a person's abilities through their brain like Sylar. When Molly wakes up, she shoots herself in the brain to make sure that nobody can exploit her ability again.

Notes

The serial killer Sylar has removed the brains of many of his victims. There is a high correlation between victims of brain removal and Dr. Suresh's list of evolved humans. Known victims include Charlie Andrews and James Walker (Fallout); Brian Davis was murdered by Sylar, but his brain removal is not absolutely confirmed (Six Months Ago). During a brief visit to the future, Hiro Nakamura saw the body of Isaac Mendez with its brain removed (Don't Look Back). Sylar mistook Jackie Wilcox for an evolved human and murdered her but turned his attention to Claire Bennet before proceeding with Jackie's brain removal (Homecoming).
Based on Dr. Suresh's theories, the wide range of special abilities that evolved humans have demonstrated all originate in the brain, even those that would logically seem to be unrelated to brain development, such as enhanced strength and rapid cell regeneration. (Six Months Ago)
Mohinder mentions the common perception that humans only use one-tenth of their brain capacity (Genesis). This "statistic", however, is untrue. However, Mohinder seems to use this common misconception as more of a metaphor that evolutionary development of the brain is on the verge of something extraordinary.
Many medical charts found on primatechpaper.com feature information about the brain.
- Hana's chart notes that she has overlapping visual cortex cells, an enlarged occipital lobe, and abnormal neuron clusters.
- Matt's chart notes that he can hear frontal lobe activity, and that he may have a "21 mutation" and "hypertrophy" in the "Broadman 41" area of his brain.
- Sylar's chart notes that he has enlarged frontal lobes, an irregular hypothalamus, and has been attached to a shunt.
Mohinder makes an important discovery about Sylar's brain chemistry by examining his spinal fluid. (Parasite)
When examining Claire's brain in The Second Coming, Sylar was able to find what he sought without actually removing her brain from her head. Only the top half of her brain was exposed, indicating that the critical parts for Sylar's examination are in the cerebrum. When he was examining Candice's brain in Kindred, he made an opening in the back of her skull. The part of the brain that controls evolved human abilities is therefore presumably near the top of the back of the human brain.

Trivia

NBC Nightly News's Brian Williams appears on a television in Le Bar; his name is misspelled "Brain". (War Buddies, Part 1)

Gallery

Hana's brain is tested in an MRI machine at the Alaskan facility.
(Wireless, Part 2)
Sylar's apartment contains medical texts...
...with exposed brains.
(One Giant Leap)
Claire returns to life when an object lodged in her brain is removed.
(One Giant Leap)
Matt's brainwaves fluctuate wildly when he reads minds.
(Collision)
Sanjog's file contains research about new areas of the brain.
(Seven Minutes to Midnight)
Chandra tests Gabriel Gray's brain.
(Six Months Ago)
Eden shoots herself in her brain so Sylar cannot take her power.
(Fallout)
Sylar wears a shunt attached directly to his brain.
(Godsend)
Matt's brain is scanned on his second trip to the medical facility.
(Company Man)
Peter can't survive a headache like this.
(.07%)
D.L. gets a piece of Linderman's mind.
(Landslide)
Ted Sprague's Company dossier contains a brain scan.
(primatechpaper.com)
The Company does several tests on Matt Neuenberg's brain.
(The Man with Too Much Brains)
Matt's brain bleeds when an information transfer overloads his body.
(The End of Hana and Drucker)
Sylar examines Claire's brain.
(The Second Coming)
Emma looks at a scan of her brain.
(Tabula Rasa)